Swedish iron-ore industry during World War II
Swedish iron ore was an important economic and military factor in the European theatre of World War II, as Sweden was the main contributor of iron ore to Nazi Germany. The average percentages by source of Nazi Germany’s iron ore procurement through 1933–43 by source were: Sweden: 43.0 Domestic production (Germany): 28.2 France: 12.9.[1] Within the German military the Navy was most dependent on Swedish steel as an absolute necessity to the German war effort, according to their grand admiral.[2] It has also been argued that the Swedish export helped prolong the war.[3]
Both the Allies and the Axis were keen to gain control of the mining district in northernmost Sweden, surrounding the mining towns of Gällivare and Kiruna. The importance of this issue increased after other sources of iron were cut off from Germany by the Allied naval blockade during the Battle of the Atlantic. Both the planned Anglo-French support of Finland in the Winter War, and the following German occupation of Denmark and Norway during Operation Weserübung were to a large extent motivated by the wish to deny their respective enemies iron critical for wartime production of steel.[4]
Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, was particularly concerned about Swedish exports of iron ore to Germany, and pushed for the British government to take military action to end the trade. From the beginning of the war Churchill tried to persuade his cabinet colleagues to send a British fleet into the Baltic Sea to stop Swedish iron reaching Germany from the two Swedish export ports, Luleå and Oxelösund. The planned incursion was termed Project Catherine and was planned by Admiral of the Fleet William Boyle. However, other events overshadowed the incursion and it was canceled.[5] Later, when the Baltic ports froze over and the Germans began shipping the iron ore from the Norwegian port of Narvik, Churchill pushed for the Royal Navy to mine the west coast of Norway to prevent the Germans travelling inside neutral territorial waters to escape Allied Contraband Control measures.
After the invasion of Norway[edit]
Despite warnings from a number of Allied and neutral sources about the imminent invasion, the Norwegians were caught largely unprepared,[7] and on 9 April 1940 the Germans began landing troops in the main Norwegian settlements of Stavanger, Oslo, Trondheim, Bergen and Narvik. The British and French made attempts to assist the Norwegians, landing considerable forces at Narvik on 14 April and fighting fierce naval engagements off the coast. Further Allied landings took place between 18 and 23 April (the Battle of Narvik), but the Germans had already taken too firm a foothold, and the Norwegian government surrendered on 9 June 1940. The railway traversed the significant Norddal Bridge, which was rigged to be blown up in case of war. There was an attempt to blow up this bridge on 14 April, but lack of expertise and of explosives meant that the damages were not so large and it was repaired fairly quickly and was used for ore transport throughout the war.[7]
The production ore in the Kiruna mine declined sharply in 1939 and 1940. The battles of Narvik and the ensuing destruction of much of the port along with the sinking of cargo ships anchored there contributed to this decline.[9] Further, cargo ships leaving Narvik could be sunk by the Allies as Britain had declared iron ore a contraband product.[9] From its height in 1937 to 1940 production of iron ore in Kiruna mine dropped from 7 to 3 million tons.[9]
Soon after the Germans fully occupied Norway they began pressing Sweden to allow unarmed German troops to travel on the Swedish railway system to and from Norway on leave. On 8 July 1940 an agreement on this traffic was reached.[10]
The supplies of iron ore continued to be shipped to Germany, often under Swedish naval protection through the Baltic and in some cases in Swedish transport ships.[7] After the German invasion of Russia, Soviet submarines attempted to sink iron ore ships in the Baltic sea, sinking the Swedish passenger liner, Hansa, on 24 November 1944, causing 84 deaths including children.[11] Transport of ore to Germany through the port of Luleå ended in 1944.[9]
To avoid mass firing as iron ore production declined during the war LKAB workers were kept busy extracting waste rock and some were allowed to retire with pensions before schedule.[9]
The Swedish position[edit]
Sweden was able to remain neutral throughout the war. According to Erik Boheman, the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs during the war, the main reasons were luck and the development of the war, in combination with the Swedish people's spirit to resist an invasion, and perhaps also some diplomatic skillfulness.[12]
Sweden also sought to maintain its traditional ties with the Western democracies. The Allied blockade of Europe and the German counter blockade of the Baltic prevented all but the bare minimum of commodities such as oil reaching Sweden from the West, but despite the Allies' sympathy with Sweden's position, there was a general belief among the American and British governments that Sweden went too far in collaborating with the Nazi regime.[13]
The Allies noted that without the Swedish iron ore, the German war effort would grind to a halt because not only was the ore being sent in large quantities but it was also of very high quality, making German steel manufacture extremely efficient. The US military was also appalled at Sweden for escorting German ships, allowing use of its own ships to transport the ore and for its failure to stop the transit of German soldiers and war materials across its territory.[7]
After America joined the blockade against the Axis forces and assisted in the economic warfare measures already being implemented by the British in early 1942, efforts were made to stop the Swedish iron ore trade and to reduce the practical help she was giving to Germany, although these attempts initially did nothing to reduce the German war effort.[7]
Later Allied pressure on Sweden[edit]
During the last half of 1943 and the early months of 1944, the US sought to cripple Germany's ability to continue the war by carrying out a concentrated and costly bombing campaign against ball bearing production in Germany combined with trade negotiations, including preclusive purchasing arrangements, intended to cut off Swedish ball bearings to Germany. Despite the bombing, German industrial countermeasures and improvisations warded off any serious consequences, and an Allied agreement with Sweden in September 1943 to halt exports of ball bearings neglected to impose restrictions on exports of the high-quality steel used in their manufacture. This allowed Sweden to continue to provide Germany with ball-bearing steel, largely offsetting the drop in the Swedish export of finished ball bearings.
After the tide of battle on the eastern front had irreversibly shifted following German defeats at El Alemein, Stalingrad and Kursk in the winter and summer of 1943, the Soviet Union, at the Moscow Conference of Foreign Ministers in October 1943, took the lead in suggesting a more active role for Sweden in the War, such as by allowing the establishment of Allied air bases in its territory. Although the Allies decided not to call on Sweden to declare war on Germany, Churchill believed that the War might be brought to an early end if Sweden (and Turkey which provided Germany with chromite ore) entered it on the Allied side in order to confront Hitler on additional fronts.
Although Sweden did not enter the fight, they later agreed to cancel the transit of German military material and troops across Sweden, to further reduce iron ore exports, end Swedish naval escorting of German ships in the Baltic, and reduce ball bearing exports. In exchange, Britain and the US agreed to a relaxation of the blockade to allow Sweden to import certain important commodities, including rubber and oil. The ongoing diplomatic pressure, together with the deteriorating German military position gradually persuaded Sweden to reduce and ultimately end its trade with Germany by November 1944.
Post-war recovery[edit]
Iron mining in northern Sweden began to recover in the autumn of 1946 with a series of shipments to England.[9] Production was further secured with LKAB signing a contract with Bethlehem Steel the same year.[9] By the early 1950s annual ore production had the same tonnage as in the best years of the 1930s.[9]